Gujarat notifies the Gujarat Shops and Establishments (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) (Amendment) Act 2026

At a glance

• Gujarat notified the Gujarat Shops and Establishments (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) (Amendment) Act 2026 (Gujarat S&E Amendment Act) amending certain provisions of the Gujarat Shops and Establishments (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Act 2019 (Gujarat S&E Act), to operate retrospectively from 16 December 2025.
• The Gujarat S&E Amendment Act has repealed the Gujarat Shops and Establishments (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) (Amendment) Ordinance 2025.
• The Gujarat S&E Amendment Act revises the applicability thresholds under the Gujarat S&E Act, now covering establishments employing 20 or more employees, and introduces greater flexibility in daily working hours, rest intervals and overtime limits.
• It also enables engagement of women employees during night shifts (between 9pm and 6am), subject to consent and fulfilment of prescribed conditions.

We would like to express gratitude to JSA for their contribution on this publication.

The Gujarat S&E Amendment Act amends the scope of the Gujarat S&E Act by restricting its applicability to establishments employing 20 or more employees (managerial and non‑managerial), in contrast to the earlier framework which applied to establishments employing up to 20 employees. In parallel, the threshold for furnishing intimation of establishment details has been increased, with establishments employing less than 20 employees now falling within the intimation framework which was previously applicable to establishments employing less than ten employees, thereby easing regulatory burden for smaller establishments.

From a working hours perspective, the Gujarat S&E Amendment Act reflects the State of Gujarat’s objective of simplifying compliance obligations as it enhances operational flexibility by increasing the daily working hours limit from nine to ten hours, while retaining the weekly cap of 48 hours. The permissible interval of rest has also been relaxed, requiring a 30 minutes’ break after six hours of continuous work instead of five hours. In addition, overtime limits have been expanded from nine to ten hours per day and from 125 to 144 hours per quarter.

The Gujarat S&E Amendment Act further enables the engagement of women employees during night shifts (9pm to 6am), subject to their consent and compliance with prescribed mandatory safeguards, a provision that was previously absent under the Gujarat S&E Act. However, employers must carefully assess the interplay on daily working hours, weekly limits and overtime exposure with the Occupational Safety, Health and Working Conditions Code 2020, which continues to prescribe an eight‑hour daily working limit for non‑managerial employees. Employers operating in the State of Gujarat should approach the amended framework with caution and undertake a holistic review of working hour, overtime exposure in alignment with the labour codes.